Interiors

Kintsugi – Fixing broken pottery with gold

I cried. Clumsy Stephen (the boyfriend) thought it was a great idea to tilt the coffee table without checking to see if anything was on it! To my horror my vintage Bjørn Wiinblad plate came crashing to the floor, broke into four pieces and I cried, a lot. I’ve been concentrating on de-cluttering my home and only owning items that I love, this plate being one of my loved items. The unfortunate reality is that if any of your loved items get broken, your heart breaks a little too. Stephen was sweating as he knew I was very upset but then I found a way to repair the plate and make a decorative feature of the break. Thank goodness for this New kintsugi repair kit!

Kintsugi is an old Japanese art of fixing broken pottery with lacquer dusted and mixed with gold, silver or platinum. You can buy pottery now that has been artfully restored using this technique or even pay someone to do it for you. As I’m an avid crafter and DIY-er I thought why not try it myself. I found the perfect repair kit online from Dutch company Humade, they have two kits to choose from, gold or silver. I chose gold, which is unlike me as I never choose gold, I’m a silver, brushed steel or brass kinda gal.

There’s a beauty in imperfection that appeals to me, so rather than making a subtle statement with the silver I chose to go bold with the gold. Plus this will stand out and remind Stephen about the day he broke my vintage plate! curses

Kintsugi - Fixing broken pottery with goldMy Kintsugi delivery arrived in such an awesome box and now to rescue my poor Bjørn Wiinblad plate! The contents of the kit from Humade Kintsugi kit are below.

KINTSUGI KIT

Epoxy fastglue
Epoxy putty
Gold powder
Soft paint brush
Gloves
Wooden sticks
Kintsugi - Fixing broken pottery with gold

I’m a messy crafter, there’s no hiding it. When faced with resin and gold powder there’s little chance that I won’t get it everywhere, even if I am supplied with a pair of latex gloves. As hard as I tried, the gloves came off and I nearly stuck to the plate but if you’re patient and take this slow it really is quite easy and mess free. The step by step instructions are below but make sure you watch this video too, Kintsugi gold repair.

Mix the resin with a little gold powder.

Apply on one side of the crack, leave it for a minute or two so that it sets slightly.

Then press both parts together and hold for a few minutes. Don’t let go too early! I did and I got the stuff everywhere! Take your time, don’t rush.

Apply a generous amount of gold powder (using the brush) to the resin when it’s nearly dry but still sticky.

If you have a space or hole in the pottery then use the epoxy putty. It dries really quickly so don’t hesitate just work fast. Once it’s dry, use a small amount of resin mixed with gold then brush with powder after.

If you get resin on the pottery like I did, I got it everywhere! Try using a little bit of Ciff to scrub it off with but for the more stubborn tough bits I scratched it off gently and carefully with a craft knife. No biggy 

I’ll also try this with my hand thrown ceramic cup that I won at the Rufford Earth and Fire Craft fair back in 2002. I found the cup broken on the floor with a suspicious Stephen standing next to it….. hmmmm anyone else seeing a pattern here? Once I’ve fixed it I’ll post that pic up on Instagram.

You can buy Kintsugi kits here;
Humade.nl
itsyonobi.com 

H x (Photo credits – Hannah Trickett)


9 Comments

  • Reply The Art Of Kintsugi » A Country Pile February 5, 2016 at 11:24 am

    […] broken and useless china, mending it and making it beautiful with gold and silver resin (great link here). I figured there way no reason the same wouldn’t work for our marble […]

  • Reply MONA PERLHAGEN March 10, 2016 at 11:26 am

    HI WHERE DO I FIND A COMPANY IN THE UK THAT CAN REPAIR SOME VERY EXPENSIVE SWEDISH 1950 VASES THAT HAVE BEEN BROKEN
    I WANT THEM REPAIRED WITH GOLD

    • Reply Hannah March 13, 2016 at 6:52 pm

      Unfortunately I don’t know of any companies that can repair with Kintsugi, but I hope you find someone! Expensive Swedish pots must be kept/repaired at all costs! xx

    • Reply Flo November 2, 2018 at 3:32 pm

      Try the Conservation Studio in London/Regents Park

  • Reply Taylor November 13, 2017 at 3:20 pm

    Quick question: how many repairs have you been able to get out of that one Humade Kintsugi kit? Thanks!

    • Reply Hannah November 18, 2017 at 3:58 pm

      hi

      I’ve only used it once but I can imagine you’d get quite a few uses out of it.

  • Reply Melody February 18, 2018 at 8:24 pm

    It appears that there would be a slight bead of epoxy after pressing the pieces together? If so, can you smooth them down, and how, do you think? Thanks!

  • Reply FolaUK May 21, 2018 at 12:07 pm

    Hi Hannah, love the blog. How long did it take for the glue to dry? Thanks

    • Reply Hannah May 29, 2018 at 10:22 am

      thanks so much. I’d say the glue dried over night. but to be safe leave it a little longer than 24 hrs. x

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